BACKGROUND: Understanding the genetic transmission of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) will help clinicians identify patients at risk and offer opportunities for intervention and treatment at specialist clinics.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate familial risk of hospitalization for OSAS in the adult population of Sweden, and to determine if there are any differences by age and sex.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Using the MigMed database at the Karolinska Institute, we divided the population of Sweden into sibling groups based on a shared mother and father and ascertained the presence or absence of a primary hospital diagnosis of OSAS in each individual during the follow-up period, 1997 to 2004. Individuals were categorized... (More)

BACKGROUND: Understanding the genetic transmission of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) will help clinicians identify patients at risk and offer opportunities for intervention and treatment at specialist clinics.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate familial risk of hospitalization for OSAS in the adult population of Sweden, and to determine if there are any differences by age and sex.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Using the MigMed database at the Karolinska Institute, we divided the population of Sweden into sibling groups based on a shared mother and father and ascertained the presence or absence of a primary hospital diagnosis of OSAS in each individual during the follow-up period, 1997 to 2004. Individuals were categorized as having or not having a sibling with OSAS, based on the presence or absence of the disorder in at least 1 of their siblings. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated for men and women with a sibling with OSAS, compared with men and women in the reference group (SIR = 1).

RESULTS: After accounting for socioeconomic status, age, geographic region, and period of diagnosis, men with at least 1 sibling who had OSAS had a SIR of 3.42 (95% CI, 2.18-5.36); the corresponding SIR in women was 3.25 (95% CI, 1.84-5.65).

CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that physicians should consider family history of OSAS when deciding whether to refer a patient for further sleep examinations.

@article{436b3681-f4c0-4e43-be79-275cd722995f,
abstract = {<p>BACKGROUND: Understanding the genetic transmission of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) will help clinicians identify patients at risk and offer opportunities for intervention and treatment at specialist clinics.</p><p>OBJECTIVE: To estimate familial risk of hospitalization for OSAS in the adult population of Sweden, and to determine if there are any differences by age and sex.</p><p>DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Using the MigMed database at the Karolinska Institute, we divided the population of Sweden into sibling groups based on a shared mother and father and ascertained the presence or absence of a primary hospital diagnosis of OSAS in each individual during the follow-up period, 1997 to 2004. Individuals were categorized as having or not having a sibling with OSAS, based on the presence or absence of the disorder in at least 1 of their siblings. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated for men and women with a sibling with OSAS, compared with men and women in the reference group (SIR = 1).</p><p>RESULTS: After accounting for socioeconomic status, age, geographic region, and period of diagnosis, men with at least 1 sibling who had OSAS had a SIR of 3.42 (95% CI, 2.18-5.36); the corresponding SIR in women was 3.25 (95% CI, 1.84-5.65).</p><p>CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that physicians should consider family history of OSAS when deciding whether to refer a patient for further sleep examinations.</p>},
author = {Sundquist, Jan and Li, Xinjun and Friberg, Danielle and Hemminki, Kari and Sundquist, Kristina},
issn = {0161-8105},
keyword = {Adult,Aged,Female,Follow-Up Studies,Hospitalization/statistics & numerical data,Humans,Male,Middle Aged,Siblings,Sleep Apnea, Obstructive/genetics,Sweden/epidemiology},
language = {eng},
number = {6},
pages = {23--817},
publisher = {Asoociated Professional Sleep Societies},
series = {Sleep},
title = {Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in siblings : an 8-year Swedish follow-up study},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/sleep/31.6.817},
volume = {31},
year = {2008},
}